Publications
Showing 146 results for Author: Amit K. Naskar
Jun, 2014
Journal
Characterization and analysis of the molecular weight of lignin for biorefining studies
The molecular weight of lignin is a fundamental property that infl uences the recalcitrance of biomass and the valorization of lignin. The determination of the molecular weight of lignin in native biomass is dependent on the bioresources used and the isolation and purifi cation procedures employed. The three most commonly employed isolation methods are milled wood lignin (…
Feb, 2014
Journal
Soft-Template-Synthesized Mesoporous Carbon for Oral Drug Delivery
Template-synthesized mesoporous carbons were successfully used in in vitro investigations of controlled delivery of three model drugs, captopril, furosemide, and ranitidine hydrochloride. Captopril and furosemide exhibited desorption kinetics over 30–40 h, and ranitidine HCl had a complete release time of 5–10 h. As evident from the slow release kinetics, we contend that o…
Feb, 2014
Journal
Studies on Supercapacitor Electrode Material from Activated Lignin-Derived Mesoporous Carbon
We synthesized mesoporous carbon from pre-cross-linked lignin gel impregnated with a surfactant as the pore-forming agent, and then activated the carbon through physical and chemical methods to obtain activated mesoporous carbon. The activated mesoporous carbons exhibited 1.5- to 6-fold increases in porosity with a maximum BET specific surface area of 1148 m2/g and a pore…
Feb, 2014
Journal
Methanol Fractionation of Softwood Kraft Lignin: Impact on the Lignin Properties
The development of technologies to tune lignin properties for high-performance lignin-based materials is crucial for the utilization of lignin in various applications. Here, the effect of methanol (MeOH) fractionation on the molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, glass transition temperature (Tg), thermal decomposition, and chemical structure of lignin were inves…
Oct, 2013
Journal
Development of Lignin-Based Polyurethane Thermoplastics
In our continued effort to develop value-added thermoplastics from lignin, here we report utilizing a tailored feedstock to synthesize mechanically robust thermoplastic polyurethanes at very high lignin contents (75–65 wt %). The molecular weight and glass transition temperature (Tg) of lignin were altered through cross-linking with formaldehyde. The cross-linked lignin wa…
Apr, 2013
Journal
Pyrolysis Pathways of Sulfonated Polyethylene, an Alternative Carbon Fiber Precursor
Sulfonated polyethylene is an emerging precursor for the production of carbon fibers. Pyrolysis of sulfonated polyethylene was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). n-heptane-4-sulfonic acid (H4S) was selected as a model compound for the study of sulfonated polyethylene. Density functional theory and conventional transition state theory were used to determine…
Oct, 2012
Journal
Turning Renewable Resources into Recyclable Polymer: Development of Lignin-Based Thermoplastic
Productive uses of lignin, the third most abundant natural polymer, have been sought for decades. One especially attractive possibility is that of developing value-added products including thermoplastics based on lignin. This possibility warrants special attention due to growth of the modern biofuel industries. However, the polydisperse molecular weight and hyper-branched…
May, 2012
Journal
Patterned functional carbon fibers from polyethylene
Patterned, continuous carbon fibers with controlled surface geometry were produced from a novel melt-processible carbon precursor. This portends the use of a unique technique to produce such technologically innovative fibers in large volume for important applications. The novelties of this technique include ease of designing and fabricating fibers with customized surface c…
Sep, 2011
Conference Paper
Surface Treatment of Carbon Fibers by Continuous Gaseous System
The mechanical performance of carbon fiber-polymer composites strongly depends on interfacial adhesion, which is function of types of carbon fiber, surface chemistry, physical and chemical interactions, and mechanical interlocking. Untreated and unsized high strength carbon fibers were oxidized by continuous thermochemical and atmospheric plasma treatment. Surface properti…